NYS Thruway Noise Barriers

STACHOWSKI ANNOUNCES NEW NOISE BARRIERS
ALONG NYS THRUWAY

Lackawanna, Buffalo to see barriers installed

Looking back in his files, NYS Senator Bill Stachowski notes that he has letters dated back to the year 2000 asking the NYS Thruway Authority (NYSTA) for "noise barriers" at points where neighborhoods lie close to the busy highway. In fact he says, he contacted the Authority during the 90's, but his records only go back so far.

So when Senator Stachowski met recently with representatives of the NYSTA, he was excited to hear that the agency would be erecting new noise barriers adjacent to the Lackwanna toll plaza and along the Buffalo city line. The $4 million for the two projects will come from the Authority's Noise Abatement Program.

"The residents in these two areas have had to deal with noise, dirt, fumes and traffic due to their close proximity to the Thruway" Stachowski said. "They have been patient, but persistent in asking for this relief, and I'm happy that we could finally deliver on our promise to get these walls put up."

The proposed Lackawanna noise barrier will be approximately 3,200 feet long, and extend along I90 eastbound, between the Baltimore & Ohio railroad line and the Thruway's toll plaza. The height is expected to be approximately 13 feet.

The South Ogden barrier will be approximately 825 feet long and extend along the I190 northbound, between Weaver Street and Old South Ogden Street. The height of the barriers for this stretch would vary between approximately 7 feet and 13 feet.

This project, placing noise abatement fixtures on existing highways, falls into the Type II classification, as determined by the NYSTA. Under this classification, the highway agency provides the barriers at it's discretion; but noise barriers must compete for funding with other necessary transportation improvements. Beginning in January 1998, the Thruway Authority funded a Type II Noise Abatement Program with the goals of providing relief to previously studied communities on a prioritized basis, and undertaking a comprehensive study of locations where noise impacts may exist but are yet unquantified.

In May 2004 the NYSTA completed a Thruway-wide Noise barrier Prioritization Study that provides an objective determination of where to construct noise barriers - in priority order - as Thruway Authority monies become available. The prioritization method calculates a priority index based on the number of affected people, the noise levels presently experienced, the decrease in noise levels with the noise barrier, and the cost of the barrier construction.

Stachowski thanked the Thruway Authority for their diligence in pursuing these funds, especially at a time when tolls were eliminated at two Buffalo area plazas. "We're not done just yet" the Senator commented. "We're still working on a plan to have this Lackawanna toll plaza moved to the South, where it will not act as a "penalty" for Southtown commuters who work in the city."

The Senator stressed that the placement of the noise barriers is a "quality of life issue" due to the fact that traffic will remain close to the homes involved, regardless if the tolls remain or are removed. "The fact remains that thousands of trucks and cars use this stretch of highway each and every day" he said. "These people deserve these barriers and I'm happy that we can finally accomodate them."

The Thruway Authority will be holding an open house on September 13 at 7PM at the Matthew Glab Post in Lackawanna for residents to provide their input and have any questions answered. At that time, engineers and others will have diagrams, maps and samples for people to review.

It is expected that the barriers will be installed during the 2008 construction season.

Other information available at:

http://www.nysthruway.gov/environmental/noise.html

http://www.nysthruway.gov/projectsandstudies/noise.html

http://www.nysthruway.gov/environmental/noisebarriers.html